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HSBC /GMAC CREDIT CARD RAISED TO 30.99% REGARDLESS OF A PERFECT PAY HISTORY! One HSBC Center Illinois
I will keep this short and sweet. I have been a loyal member of HSBC bank since 1992. In this time I have graciously used this card because of its GM bonus points that may be acquired though the general use of the card. An HSBC employee promised me a fixed rate on this card as long as I made perfect payments for as long as I held the balance. Well guess what? They Lied!!! Not only did they not honor our agreement, the points that I had earned (approx $2500 worth) was not honored. When I decided to lease my new GMAC vehicle and use my well paid and earned points, the dealer informed me that I may use only a very small portion of the points. What is the point (no pun intended) of using this card? To add insult to injury, in February 2008. HSBC, the bank that GMAC uses to govern their credit card, decided to raise my interest rate to a whopping 30.99%. I went from having a minimum of $120 due to $388 plus...Of course I called HSBC because I believed there must have been a mistake. Because after all, we had an agreement. I was a loyal customer who paid without delay month to month since 1992? And in New York State the max rate increase can only be 24.99%? Well upon investigation, I found that they simply located themselves out of New York State so that they may charge the maximum 30.99%. Every time I called, I heard the same story..." I'm sorry sir, I know you're a long time customer that has paid your account perfectly, but unfortunately, we do not have a lower rate for you at this time. Why? Because the balance to limit of the card is too high... Huh? What happened to the fixed rate that I was promised if I made my payments on time? Why is there no accountability for banks like this? This is greed in its worst form. Every month I pay this card down. Conveniently they continue to lower my limit so that I continue to look maxed out on my card. $287 of a $388 min due goes to interest. I will continue to pay this and more until I rid myself of this bank and all that care to do business with them. I am in sales, and day to day I see and speak to dozens of people. I will personally make sure that I tell each and every person I see about this banks practices (HSBC). Hey, if each of those people tells two or three others, it will only be a matter of time before hundreds of thousand know what a greedy and uncaring Rip off bank HSBC is. HSBC, enjoy your 30.99%. HSBC miss leaded me into believing they cared. Well they do care. They care about the money they can get from you no matter how unfair or how much of a RIP OFF it is. Why else would you apply a rate of 30.99% (a rate applied to people who fail to pay their bills.) to a long term loyal perfectly paying customer? Consumer beware! Do yourself a favor and do not deal with this bank (HSBC) or its affiliates. There are plenty of banks out there that still do the right thing. Banks like Discover, Barclays and Capitol One. I have had all for years and non have attempted to do what HSBC has done. Discover, Barclays and Capitol One still charges a fair rate and do not offer you false promises. I hope this letter saves somebody some grief. Good luck and god bless.
John
Yaphank, New York
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
DEC458@MSN.COM
Cleveland,Tennessee,
U.S.A.
Raising Rates
#6Consumer Comment
Tue, November 25, 2008
Almost every card out there now you have including say Advanta, Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, etc. has started raising their rates for anyone carrying a balance regardless if you always paid on time, have excellent credit and so on and so forth. Since the 1978 Supreme Court case that let them locate in states where they can do whatever the heck they want to and use whatever rates they want to, they have been jacking people's rates due to the current economic crisis and a lot of them are in the toilet now, like Citibank, Advanta, and others. The other gentlemen are correct in that about the only way to avoid them doing this to you is to not carry a balance or at least not past 30 days.
Pandora
Charlotte,North Carolina,
U.S.A.
I have fallen into the same mess with HSBC!
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, October 11, 2008
I have also been a loyal customer to HSBC. With no late payments, payments over my minimum, and nothing on my credit report, such as late payments, defaults, collections, and so on. My interest rate rate at 12%, this is why I chose them. I just received a notice saying my rate is going to go up to 29%! I did the same thing and called them right away, thinking there must of been a mistake. They told me it was a business decision they needed to make!
I think it's pretty crappy that in times like now, more corporations are shafting the little people again and this is what I told them, needless to say I closed my account with them and told them if I can get a card with a better interest rate, there is no reason to keep doing business with them! I'm so angry that corporations keep getting away with unethical practices just to make a dollar.
My advice is, close your accounts with these snakes! When the economy turns around, remember the companies that did this to you, don't ever go back to them even if they contact you saying they have a better card for you (they'll just do it again to you), and spread the word. Maybe with enough people we can start making a difference in corporation greed!!
Flynrider
Phoeix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Read those card agreements
#6Consumer Suggestion
Fri, October 03, 2008
Much like buying a used car, any hogwash (like a particular rate for life) that a representative promises you is overridden by the agreement you sign. In every single CC agreement I've ever seen is language stating that they can raise your rate to whatever they feel is appropriate. That's why credit cards rate just slightly above a loan shark in a dark alley, as far as integrity. It's almost the absolute worst way to borrow money. I have a couple of credit cards for convenience, but they get paid in full at the end of every month. If you don't carry a balance, they can't put you into financial trouble.
Bigcraig
Irmo,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
There ALL Doing It Now
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, October 03, 2008
Trying to recover bad loans there screwing over the good customers, WAMU raised my fixed for life 8.9 card to 24.9 with no notice.
You may find this article very interesting
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/view
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
Don't be so sure...
#6Consumer Comment
Thu, October 02, 2008
HSBC raised your rate because they "felt" that you had an increased credit risk. True or not, it is totally valid for them to do. This is why you will find most credit card companies based in states that have very liberal credit card regulations in terms of interest rates and fees.
Unfortunatly there is no such thing as a "Fixed Rate forever". Every credit card reserves the right to change your rate when circumstances change. Don't think that other banks won't do the exact same thing. In fact there is something known as Universal Default. Where if you have anything negative show up on your report they reserve the right to kick your interest rate up even if you were perfect with them. So if your credit reports are showing you maxed out on this card, don't be surprised if your other credit cards don't follow suit if they have this provision.